Sunday, April 16, 2017

It’s Easter Sunday.  This year it’s the same date for both the eastern (orthodox) churches and the western (catholic) churches.

Last night we went to bed at 10:30, I quickly fell asleep but for some reason woke up about 3am and couldn’t get back to sleep for about an hour.  I finally woke/got up at 8:30.

It’s another quiet sunny day.

The large tree outside our apt has bloomed with beautiful yellow flowers.

The ladies left about 11:15 for the gym and returned at 1pm.

The Colombian Peso closed for the week at 2,864 to the US Dollar. 

It’s not as high as the 3,300 a year ago but it’s still a lot better than the 1,800 I received when I first got here 4 years ago.

The sky looked a little questionable so I took my large umbrella and we left the apt about 2:30, walked to the La Mesa area of Envigado.  Two other gringos recommended this steakhouse so we stopped at Black Pepper and I chose an outside table and positioned myself so I could see the inside television.  It was playing a rugby game – something I have yet to really understand although I see similarities to NFL football.  Their menu had a large selection of steaks, plus surf & turf and ribs.  First I ordered a Te Hatsu with a glass of ice, Teresa ordered a strawberry juice and Laura a limonada de coco (coconut lemonade).  We ordered cheese fingers for an appetizer to share.  Based on the report from the gringos I recommended the surf & turf to the ladies.  For our entrees Laura ordered the St. Louis ribs (400gr), Teresa ordered the Iron Steak (250gr) and I their Angus New York Steak (the 2^nd most expensive steak on their menu).  I really didn’t need a steak so large (350gr) but I was leery of ordering anything local choosing imported instead.  We also each ordered a green salad which came without any dressing so it wasn’t anything special.  My steak was pretty good as it had a lot of fat on the outside and no, I didn’t eat the fat.  Teresa’s steak was pretty good also and Laura’s ribs were pretty meaty.  All orders came with rustic fries although I believe we had other options.  For dessert we shared a slice of carrot cake and a brownie with vanilla ice cream.  The carrot cake was very moist – one of the best I’ve had in Medellin.  Service was good although not as attentive as in the US who want to get you out ASAP so they can turn over the table and get another customer in.  All you have to do is get someone’s attention and I soon had the check.

The total bill came to 193,935 (about $69) including tax (8%) and tip (10%).  So it was about $23 per person, expensive by 

Colombian standards but not for a gringo on Easter Sunday.

By the time we left it had cleared to a sunny day and I wished I had brought my sunglasses instead of my umbrella.

On the way back I pointed out the 2 apartments (more likely houses) I had seen yesterday.  They are a bit of a walk from the gym and Teresa said they probably cost 5 million a month but I think she was kidding.

We were back by 4pm.

Teresa and Laura left at 6:30 to go to mass in the park.  They came back at 8pm.

I spent the evening watching some chess videos, making some notes and listening to some of my oldies on iTunes.

T-shirt of the day: I’d like to thank my legs for always supporting me.  My arms for always being by my side, and my fingers … I could always count on them.